There was a time, not so long ago, when it wasn’t implausible that Prince Harry might have posed a serious problem for the Royal Family. Those now infamous pictures of the pant-less prince partying in Las Vegas in the summer of 2012 spring instantly to mind. Then there was the time in 2005 when he dressed up as a Nazi for a friend’s 21st birthday and struck a photographer outside a nightclub. Way back, when he was a teenager, Harry was the naughty one, smoking cannabis and drinking while underage, regretful episodes that overshadowed the start of the Queen’s Golden Jubilee celebrations.

Fast forward to today, and it’s no exaggeration to say that Prince Harry is a global superstar, and one of the most popular members of the Royal Family, comfortably sharing the spotlight with Prince William and Kate Middleton at events, such as Sunday’s London Marathon. More relaxed than his older brother and more accessible than the Queen, Harry, like his late mother, has the personal touch. And with a potential engagement to Meghan Marklecapturing the public’s imagination and his charitable efforts summoning memories of Princess Diana, Harry has fully grown into his role in the royal spotlight.

One of his friends told me recently: “Harry has realized that this is the time to really make a difference. He has a profile, and he wants to use it to do some good and bring about some real change.”

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Harry has joked that his popularity has a shelf life, and that there will be a time when the press is more interested in writing about Prince George and Princess Charlotte than him, but for now he has the media hanging on his every word. And what he has had to say has been, frankly, gripping.

Last week’s groundbreaking podcast with The Telegraph in which he candidly revealed that he’d sought professional help to cope with the loss of his mother nearly two decades after her tragic death, which was still raw for him, was honest and far from regal. We don’t expect our royals to wear their hearts on their sleeves, but it was also wonderfully refreshing.

As some have noted, it’s a bit like Diana all over again. Harry is breaking the royal mold in a way we’ve not really seen since the late Princess of Wales.

It’s perhaps not a coincidence that this transition has taken place so noticeably in this, the 20th year since Diana’s death, which was always going to be a major milestone for Princes William and Harry. A statue has been commissioned to stand on the grounds of Kensington Palace as a permanent memorial (finally) to Diana, and a beautiful flower garden has sprung into bloom at the palace where she once lived. Both princes are determined to keep their mother’s legacy alive, but it is only now that they have been willing to speak publicly about Diana.

“I buried my head in the sand for many many years,” Harry told The Telegraphs’s Bryony Gordon, perhaps shedding some light on why it has taken so long. Harry vowed that when he was 18 he would continue the work his mother started but never got to finish, and he has stayed true to his word. One can only imagine that Diana would be hugely proud of what both her sons have achieved in their charity work if she were here today, and I think she would be particularly proud of Harry, for he is championing the gritty issues she took on, such as AIDS and land mines.

While Prince Harry might have slipped down the line of succession after the births of George and Charlotte, he hasn’t let his responsibilities slip. Whether it’s representing the Queen overseas or championing one of his causes, Harry is committed and serious about his role, and the niche he has carved for himself within the Royal Family. Many feared he lacked direction, but Harry asked people to have faith in him. He has proved his critics wrong.

Top-Hat Harry. Are we the only ones who used the top-hat piece in Monopoly expressly to sit on top of the money accumulated for Free Parking?

Photo: by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.

Yellow-Sash Harry. You could imagine if those pants were paired with, say, a black T-shirt, it could actually be a sort of hipster, indie-rocker look for him.

Photo: by Stefan Postles/Getty Images.

Army Harry. Take this one in, folks, as we will not be seeing this look anymore, for Harry has said good-bye to his army days.

Photo: by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Suit Harry. Ready to shake hands with a hundred well-wishers, or to clock-in for the first day of his Goldman Sachs internship.

Photo: by Samir Hussein/WireImage.

Flannel-Shirt Harry. . . . which is this flannel-shirt look! He could wear that parka to a charity event, and just blame the inclement weather, whereas there is no way this Mumford-y flannel would ever fly. (Also: Hi, Cressida! We miss getting to write about you!)

Photo: by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Polo-Shirt Harry. This pose! There should be a thousand granite statues constructed of Harry in this pose!

Photo: by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

T-Shirt Harry. We have now reached our least formal look, and, MAN, is this a least formal look, right?!

Photo: by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.

Top-Hat Harry. Are we the only ones who used the top-hat piece in Monopoly expressly to sit on top of the money accumulated for Free Parking?

by Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images.

Yellow-Sash Harry. You could imagine if those pants were paired with, say, a black T-shirt, it could actually be a sort of hipster, indie-rocker look for him.

by Stefan Postles/Getty Images.

Army Harry. Take this one in, folks, as we will not be seeing this look anymore, for Harry has said good-bye to his army days.

by Matt Cardy/Getty Images.

Suit Harry. Ready to shake hands with a hundred well-wishers, or to clock-in for the first day of his Goldman Sachs internship.

by Samir Hussein/WireImage.

No-Tie Harry. This is a very different Harry than Suit Harry. No-Tie Harry is going to order that third drink. No-Tie Harry is going to share that piece of gossip that he knows he probably shouldn’t. No-Tie Harry doesn’t remember your name, but you don’t mind at all.

by Toby Melville/WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Fleece-Pullover Harry. He looks right out of an L.L.Bean catalogue here, no?

by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images.

Arctic-Tundra Harry. It was sort of challenging to place this look on a “most formal to least formal” scale, since it sort of lives out on its own, but we think you’ll agree it’s “more formal” than the next look . . .

by David Cheskin/WPA Pool/Getty Images.

Flannel-Shirt Harry. . . . which is this flannel-shirt look! He could wear that parka to a charity event, and just blame the inclement weather, whereas there is no way this Mumford-y flannel would ever fly. (Also: Hi, Cressida! We miss getting to write about you!)

by Karwai Tang/WireImage.

Polo-Shirt Harry. This pose! There should be a thousand granite statues constructed of Harry in this pose!

by Chris Jackson/Getty Images.

T-Shirt Harry. We have now reached our least formal look, and, MAN, is this a least formal look, right?!